MUMBAI: America, a co-production by Spain, Brazil, Portugal and Russia, has won the best director‘s award at the Sofia International Film Festival.

The main prize went to a Bulgarian film Asylum, that relates the story of a conflict between a 12-year old boy and his parents. The film by director Joao Nuno Pinto, where the lead part is played by Russian actress Chulpan Khamatova, tells about the hard life of immigrants in Portugal.

The 15th Sofia Film Festival was held from 4 to 13 March with its closing day highlighting the screening of a Russian film "The Edge" by Alexei Uchitel. Films also shown outside the competition programme of the festival were Russian films How I ended this summer by Alexei Popogrebsky and Morphine by Alexei Balabanov.